La Chaux-de-Fonds (French pronunciation: [laʃodəfɔ̃]) is a Swiss city in the canton of Neuchâtel. It is located in the Jura mountains at an altitude of 1000 m, a few kilometres south of the French border. After Geneva, Lausanne and Fribourg it is the fifth largest city in the Romandie, the French-speaking part of the country, with a population (as of December 2020) of 36,915.
The city was founded in 1656. Its growth and prosperity are mainly bound up with watch making. It is the most important centre of the watch-making industry in the area known as the Watch Valley. Partially destroyed by a fire in 1794, La Chaux-de-Fonds was rebuilt following a grid street plan, which was and is still unique among Swiss cities, the only exception being the easternmost section of the city, which was spared by the fire. This creates an interesting and obvious transition from the old section to the newer section. The roads in the original section are very narrow and winding and then open up to the grid pattern near the town square. The famous architect Le Corbusier, the writer Blaise Cendrars and the carmaker Louis Chevrolet were born there. La Chaux-de-Fonds is a renowned centre of Art Nouveau.
In 2009 La Chaux-de-Fonds and Le Locle, its sister city, were jointly awarded UNESCO World Heritage status for their exceptional universal value.
Distance between:
Geneva to La Chaux-de-Fonds71 Miles / 114 Kms Lucerne to La Chaux-de-Fonds68 Miles / 109 Kms Zürich to La Chaux-de-Fonds83 Miles / 133 Kms Basel to La Chaux-de-Fonds47 Miles / 76 Kms Bern to La Chaux-de-Fonds33 Miles / 53 Kms Lausanne to La Chaux-de-Fonds40 Miles / 65 Kms
Postal Code
Population 2019
Total: 37 952
Total Men: 18 439
Total Women: 19 513
47.1034892,6.8327838